Usually, a plate with coarse food leftovers is pre-cleaned individually by hand or a rubber glove, sponge, napkins, hand scrapers or brushes in commercial kitchens, canteens and similar establishments in the catering or restaurant services. This pre-cleaning is unhygienic, time consuming and also ineffective.
Thus, the German patent application DE 198 45 541 A1 describes a preliminary plate cleaner that can be hygienic, effective and timesaving to remove food particles from dishes before entering into the dishwasher. This preliminary plate cleaner has different brush systems in order to provide an improved stripping of residues from plates. According to this design, an ambidextrous work is possible. A plate in each hand allows the staff to work faster, cleaner, more hygienic and in an effective way, so that the staff is not even in contact with the food particles. The preliminary plate cleaner itself has a dishwasher-safe stainless steel holder and the remover, which can be loosened quickly by a quick closure for cleaning. Even with a loosening of the quick closure a falling out of the detachable remover is prevented. The preliminary plate cleaner can be mounted in various positions on labor, irrigation and/or feeding tables or to/above waste containers.
In the kitchens of the restaurant or catering industry during intense activities at peak meal times often the required attention in the separation of food waste and reusable utensils is not present due to a lack the time. As it happens, for example, that on a plate with a napkin the cutlery is accidentally thrown into the waste container. For the owner or tenant of a catering industry, this is an enormous cost factor, as always new cutlery and food preparation utensils must be purchased.
Therefore covers or lids for waste containers are known which allow easy removal of food leftovers and also prevent accidental dumping of cutlery. An example of such a lid for a waste container shows the international patent application WO 03/018 441 A1. The body forming the lid defines a chute formation leading to an opening through which garbage can be fed via the body into a garbage container on which the body is located, in use. The walls of the chute formation are associated with a magnet that can trap metal objects. A flap, optionally also having a magnet associated herewith, is pivotally mounted on the body to provide for blocking of the opening while garbage is not being fed into an associated garbage container. The lid is intended to be used with garbage containers into which leftovers of eating establishments are discarded, in order to trap tableware that often are simultaneously discarded.
A similarly executed waste container lid is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,213 A. A trash container lid facilitates easy disposal of food scraps while inhibiting inadvertent disposal of tableware. The trash container lid includes a cover configured to cover at least a portion of an opening in a trash container. A chute is formed in the cover and is configured to receive food scraps and to direct the food scraps into the trash container. At least one magnet is disposed proximate the chute to catch tableware inadvertently introduced thereinto. A scraper blade is formed to the cover proximate the chute such that food scraps scraped from plates and the like with the scraper fall through the chute and into the trash container.
The international patent application WO 2005/042382 A1 discloses an apparatus for removing cutlery from waste intended for a waste container. The apparatus is placeable above the waste container and defines a feed path. A closing device is provided for closing off the feed path that is adjustable between an open position and a closed position. A cutlery detector is provided to which the closing device is connected for adjusting the closing device from the open position to the closed position when the cutlery detector has detected the presence of cutlery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,970 describes a lid that fits to the top of a garbage container to magnetically intercept tableware out of food trash being entered into the container. The lid presents a “U”-shaped channel or chute, extending toward an aperture sized to permit the food trash to enter into the trash container. While free-falling through the aperture, tableware is attracted and segregated out of food trash and held flat to one of the two opposed sidewalk mounting the magnets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,253 describes an apparatus for separating cutlery from restaurant waste. A hopper forms a chute and is adapted to be placed above the opening of a waste container. A flap) arranged in the hopper is pivotable between two positions, namely a first position for closing off the opening and a second position for uncovering the opening. An electrical switching signal from an inductive type probe controls a drive member for pivoting the flap between the first and second positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,789 describes a trashcan mounted apparatus for scanning for metal objects. The apparatus includes a funnel shaped entryway. A detector coil surrounds the vertical walls for detecting metal passing through the opening. Control electronics coupled to the detector coil includes a speaker and a light indicator for warning that the detector coil has detected metal passing through the opening.